1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light source device having a plurality of light source portions, to a display apparatus equipped with such a light source device as a backlight light source, and to an optical member suitable for such a device and such an apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal display apparatuses are advantageous in that they have low power consumption and a space-saving design, and can be manufactured at low cost. In recent years, liquid crystal display apparatuses with these features are replacing cathode ray tubes (CRT) which were mainstream display apparatuses in the past.
Liquid crystal display apparatuses can be classified into several types in terms of their illumination techniques used for displaying images. One representative type is a transmissive liquid crystal display apparatus that performs image display by utilizing a light source (backlight light source) disposed behind a liquid crystal panel. An example of a transmissive liquid crystal display apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-279988.
Generally, a backlight light source device contained in a transmissive liquid crystal display apparatus includes a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL). On the other hand, as eco-friendly mercury-free light source devices are becoming in greater demand in recent years, light source devices that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of CCFLs are expected to increase.